Tenneco CEO steps down; COO named successor

Tenneco Inc. said Gregg Sherrill is stepping down as CEO of the company, but he will remain its executive chairman.

Sherrill, 64, has been CEO and chairman of the U.S.-based emission control systems specialist since January 2007. The board of directors approved COO Brian Kesseler to fill the role of CEO. Kesseler is also a member of the board of directors. The change will go into effect on May 17.

Kesseler, 50, joined Tenneco in 2015. He was previously the president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions since 2013. Kesseler started at Johnson Controls in 1994.

Tenneco ranks No. 42 on the Automotive News Europe list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide sales to automakers of $5.97 billion in 2015. Europe accounted for 29 percent of that total.